Anastasia (1997)

ANASTASIA offers no surprises. Fox's first salvo in the animation
wars is an exceptionally unexceptional musical fantasy, about the
adventures of a young woman (voiced by Meg Ryan) who may or may not
be a lost Russian princess, the young man (voiced by John Cusack)
trying to pass her off as the last surviving member of the Romanov
family, and the evil sorcerer (voiced by Christopher Lloyd) trying
to kill them both. Plain characters, bland songs, and a decidedly
non-threatening villain makes this a long sit on par with Disney's
dreadful POCAHONTAS. (The lack of spontaneous wit is a toughie,
too. I should've walked out, but didn't.) Will the kiddies care?
Probably not. There's lots of motion and plenty of bright colors
and even an action sequence or two. For those adults squirming in
their seats, at least they can enjoy the polite rewrite of Russian
history. For example, did you know that the entire Bolshevik rev-
olution was caused by one cranky magician? (Rated "R"/94 min.)
Grade: C
Copyright 1997 Michael J. Legeros
Movie Hell is a trademark of Michael J. Legeros